Things went from bad to worse for the Bulls, as a lengthy injury report pregame foreshadowed a bad loss, which is exactly what the Bulls suffered on Wednesday night.
The Chicago Bulls entered Wednesday night's game missing two of their top players in terms of 3-point attempts, and it certainly looked that way in the end result. Chicago hit a (new) low point of the season, as they secured their second five-game losing streak of the year with their 113-103 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.
The Bulls were badly outgunned from the 3-point line, as the Nets got up 16 more attempts. Brooklyn finished the night shooting an efficient 19-46 from 3-point range (41%), while the Bulls hit seven 3-pointers total as a team (7-30 or 23%). With no Coby White or Kevin Huerter, Josh Giddey led an admirable effort on the perimeter. The Australian guard racked up a 28-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist triple-double, and was the only Bull to score over 20 points on the evening. Matas Buzelis had a solid 14 points, but wasn't able to getinto a rhythm the free throw line (1-2) or the 3-point line (1-5).
A Bulls team short on wing defense without Isaac Okoro was in trouble right away on Wednesday night, as talented, 6-foot-10 scorer Michael Porter Jr. was shooting early and often. Porter racked up 14 points in the opening frame, and was a thorn in the Bulls side all night. Porter finished the night with 33 points, including five makes from 3-point range.
The attention that Porter Jr. was able to command eventually opened up things plenty for young Nets forward Noah Clowney. The (also) 6-foot-10 Clowney knocked down 6 of his 11 attempts from 3-point range, with the Nets pair of lanky forwards--Porter Jr. and Clowney--combining for 11 3-point makes, four more than the Bulls made as a team.
The Bulls haven't said anything publicly about their organizational goals changing, but one can only wonder if the team will start to turn their eyes to the lottery standings much earlier than this franchise is used to. The injuries have mounted up for the Bulls, although key, backup center Zach Collins looks like he is close to a return. Without White to provide a big scoring boost opposite Giddey, or Okoro to at least make big-time scorers work hard, the Bulls are fighting an uphill battle on both sides of the ball.
Nikola Vucevic has been a source of steady production for the Bulls against young teams like the Nets, but the poor play of the team appears to be getting to Vucevic mentally, or at least it appears that way. The Montenegrin big man had a slew of uncharacteristic plays, including six turnovers and overall poor 6-18 shooting night (1-6 from 3-point range).
The Bulls have just completed a stretch in which they lost to the Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets, and Indiana Pacers, four of the teams in the bottom 10 of the standings in the NBA. The injuries obviously stand as a valid excuse for the Bulls, but the question of if they truly belong to be lumped in with the bottom tier of the league will be answered soon.
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